These Cardinals stars could be on the move

This story was excerpted from John Denton’s Cardinals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. LOUIS – While MLB’s Hot Stove is about to blast white-hot heat over the fall and winter months, the Cardinals will most likely be left out in the cold in terms of player acquisition. But that doesn’t mean the Cards won’t be right in the middle of much of the offseason action, just in a decidedly different manner than ever before.

Back in July of 2023, the Cardinals took the unusual position of being sellers instead of buyers at the Trade Deadline for the first time in decades. Now, in another first, the Cards will likely be offloading more proven veteran talent than they will be working to acquire. A “reset,” as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak called it while shying away from the “rebuilding” phrase. It is a position fans aren’t used to seeing their Redbirds in, with franchise fixtures potentially headed elsewhere.

Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas and possibly even closer Ryan Helsley -- standout pillars of the organization in recent years -- could be on the move in the coming weeks and months. Arenado, Contreras, Gray and Mikolas are still under contract and have full no-trade clauses in their deals, so they would have to approve any swaps. But at their ages and advanced points in their careers, few, if any of them, likely would be in favor of sticking around for a rebuild and will most likely give the Cards approved lists of teams they would be willing to go to in a trade.

Goldschmidt, 37, is a free agent, and Mozeliak told MLB.com that the club would not be extending a qualifying offer to the 2022 National League Most Valuable Player. That’s not earth-shattering news because the cost-conscious Cards don’t want to pay Goldschmidt $21.05 million for the 2025 season, but it does mean that Goldschmidt’s time in St. Louis is over after six seasons. Contenders such as the Astros, Diamondbacks and Yankees could be potential landing spots for a player determined to show the rest of the league that he still has something left in the tank.

The same could be said for the 33-year-old Arenado, who committed himself to drastically changing his offseason workout routines to try and regain some of the explosiveness that seemed to leave his body this past season when he homered just 16 times. Arenado has stayed in the gym early in the offseason, working more with weights and MMA fighters than doing yoga and playing golf. But where will he be showing off his new physique next season? The Southern California native is still owed $74 million over the next three years, but the world champion Dodgers might not even blink at that amount of cash. Could the Yankees or Mets be interested in adding some star power -- and a reliable third-base glove -- to their rosters? Might the Phillies move on from Alec Bohm?

Gray, who picked the Cardinals last November because of their long pedigree of winning, could be an interesting case. Not only is the 34-year-old owed $65 million over the next two seasons of a heavily backloaded contract, but he likely would only approve trades to cities that keep him relatively close to his Middle Tennessee home. The Reds wanted to re-sign Gray last offseason, but whiffed when the Cards came calling. Might the Braves be willing to trade for Gray to offset the possible loss of Max Fried in free agency?

Contreras, who is still owed $59.5 million, was heavily courted by the Astros in the 2022 offseason, and he could be finally headed there two years later. If the catcher is willing to be primarily a DH or a first baseman, that could open more trade suitors.

Helsley, who is due a well-deserved raise in arbitration following a season where he saved 49 games, could be the most painful loss of all. He is the franchise’s longest-tenured homegrown player, having been discovered and selected by the Redbirds in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft. Helsley has been a model Cardinal, working his way through the system, battling beyond injuries and becoming arguably baseball’s best closer. But he is the Cardinals commodity who could likely fetch the largest prospect haul. The Orioles and Phillies should have made a play for Helsley years ago, and they have deep farm systems to land the All-Star closer.

The Cards tipped their hand as to their intentions last week when they declined the contract options for Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton. Soon, others will also be leaving the Cards. Without question, that’s not going to be easy for Cardinals fans to watch.